Watch the first clip from Professor Marston & The Wonder Women, true story of the unconventional relationship that inspired one of the world’s most beloved superheroes.

Courtesy of Annapurna Pictures

Courtesy of Annapurna Pictures

Courtesy of Annapurna Pictures

This is the year of Wonder Woman and here at We So Nerdy, we bask in the gloriousness that is Diana Prince! Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman film is one of the best we’ve seen in 2017 and one of the best superhero movies EVER. At the same time, Leigh Bardugo tells the origin story in her latest novel, Wonder Woman: Warbringer, a passionate, YA story about Diana’s quest to save the world from humanity’s baser instincts.

However, next month, Annapurna Pictures is bringing us a film that explores the Wonder Woman backstory in an unexpected way. Professor Marston & The Wonder Women tells the incredible true story of what inspired Harvard psychologist Dr. William Moulton Marston to create the iconic Wonder Woman character in the 1940s. Even more interesting, we learn that Marston derives his inspiration from his polyamorous relationship with his wife, Elizabeth Marston, and their lover, Olive Byrne. Oh my…

Professor Marston & The Wonder Women was written and directed by Angela Robinson and stars Luke Evans, Rebecca Hall, and Bella Heathcote. The film debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival to rave reviews that highlight the passionate, unconventional relationship, taboo sensuality, and highly empowered female characters.

In the first clip released, Marston shares his initial sketches for the Wonder Woman comic with Elizabeth and Olive and they are highly skeptical about the possibilities for publishing:

You know, it’s so funny to hear Elizabeth and Olive’s skepticism about Wonder Woman facts that I totally accept… of course Diana lives on an island populated only by women, and of course Diana has cuffs that ward off bullets.

What’s even more fascinating is how, now knowing Marston’s enthusiasm for BDSM, so many of these subtle details take on a new light. This is one Wonder Woman origin story that I definitely need to see… you know my love of erotic stories!

In a superhero origin tale unlike any other, the film is the incredible true story of what inspired Harvard psychologist Dr. William Moulton Marston to create the iconic Wonder Woman character in the 1940’s. While Marston’s feminist superhero was criticized by censors for her ‘sexual perversity’, he was keeping a secret that could have destroyed him. Marston’s muses for the Wonder Woman character were his wife Elizabeth Marston and their lover Olive Byrne, two empowered women who defied convention: working with Marston on human behavior research — while building a hidden life with him that rivaled the greatest of superhero disguises.